[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.J. Res. 70 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. J. RES. 70
Congratulating the Army Reserve on its centennial, which will be
formally celebrated on April 23, 2008, and commemorating the historic
contributions of its veterans and continuing contributions of its
soldiers to the vital national security interests and homeland defense
missions of the United States.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 13, 2007
Mr. Bishop of Georgia (for himself, Mr. Buyer, Mr. Taylor, Mr. Shimkus,
Mr. Murtha, Mr. Young of Florida, Mr. Skelton, Mr. Lewis of California,
Mr. Clyburn, Mr. Coble, Mr. Smith of Texas, Mr. Filner, Ms. Slaughter,
Mr. Dreier, Mr. Spratt, Mr. Peterson of Minnesota, Mr. Conyers, Mr.
Rangel, Mr. Reyes, Mr. Akin, Mr. Boyd of Florida, Mr. Burton of
Indiana, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Duncan, Mr. Faleomavaega, Mr. Gordon of
Tennessee, Mr. Hare, Mr. Hastings of Washington, Mr. Jefferson, Mr.
Markey, Mr. Mollohan, Mr. Moore of Kansas, Mr. Pascrell, Mr. Peterson
of Pennsylvania, Mr. Ramstad, Mr. Scott of Virginia, Mr. Weldon of
Florida, Mr. Edwards, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Rothman, Mr. Moran of
Virginia, Ms. Schwartz, Ms. Hooley, Mr. Rohrabacher, Mr. Ehlers, Mr.
Lamborn, Mr. Walden of Oregon, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, Mr. Brady
of Pennsylvania, Mr. Farr, Mr. Cohen, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of
Texas, Mr. Fortuno, Mr. Goode, Ms. Bordallo, Mr. Smith of Washington,
Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Mr. Israel, Ms. Carson, Mrs. Tauscher, Mr.
Dicks, Mr. Neugebauer, Mr. Matheson, Mr. Saxton, Mr. Carney, Mr. Hayes,
Mr. Walz of Minnesota, Mr. McNulty, Mr. McHenry, Mr. Ryan of Ohio, Mr.
Meek of Florida, Mr. Etheridge, Mr. Hinojosa, Mr. Ortiz, Mr. McGovern,
Mr. Westmoreland, Mr. Jones of North Carolina, Mr. Johnson of Illinois,
Mr. Latham, Mr. Linder, Mr. Kingston, Mr. Snyder, Mrs. Christensen, Ms.
Castor, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Boswell, Mr. Smith of Nebraska, Mr. Berry,
Mr. Hill, Ms. Giffords, Mr. Lincoln Davis of Tennessee, Mr. Young of
Alaska, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Shuler, Mr. Holt, Mr.
Murphy of Connecticut, Mr. Costello, Ms. Matsui, Mr. Scott of Georgia,
Mr. Weller of Illinois, Mr. Wamp, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Towns, Mr. McHugh,
Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, Ms. Loretta Sanchez of California, Mr.
Bilirakis, Mr. Capuano, Mrs. Maloney of New York, Mr. Holden, Mr.
Chandler, Mr. Lampson, Mr. Kildee, Mr. Shays, Ms. Harman, Ms. Waters,
Mr. Meeks of New York, Mr. Issa, Ms. Kilpatrick, Mr. Watt, Mrs.
Blackburn, Mr. Wynn, Mr. Payne, Mr. Gohmert, Mr. Manzullo, Ms. Berkley,
Mr. Rush, Ms. Norton, Mr. Deal of Georgia, Ms. Clarke, Mr. Kind, Mr.
Brown of South Carolina, Mr. Tanner, Mr. Davis of Alabama, Mr. Inglis
of South Carolina, Mr. Butterfield, Ms. Ginny Brown-Waite of Florida,
Mr. Hulshof, Ms. Watson, Mr. Cummings, Mr. Kirk, Mr. Boucher, Mr.
Wexler, Mr. Udall of Colorado, Mr. Miller of Florida, Mr. Walberg, Mr.
Delahunt, Mr. Wolf, Mrs. Jones of Ohio, Mr. McNerney, Ms. McCollum of
Minnesota, Mrs. Myrick, Mr. Souder, Mr. Pence, Mr. Gary G. Miller of
California, Mr. Abercrombie, Mr. Tom Davis of Virginia, Mr. Doyle, Mr.
Lynch, Mr. Hastings of Florida, Mr. Al Green of Texas, Mr. Courtney,
Mrs. McCarthy of New York, Ms. Sutton, Mr. Honda, Mr. Ross, Mrs. Davis
of California, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Ms. Corrine Brown of Florida, Mr.
McDermott, Mr. Ellison, Mr. Gingrey, Mrs. Boyda of Kansas, Mr.
Ellsworth, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mr. Clay, Mr. Fattah, Mr. Conaway,
Mr. Rogers of Kentucky, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Welch
of Vermont, Mr. Platts, Mr. Altmire, Mr. Kagen, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr.
DeFazio, Mr. LoBiondo, Mr. Price of Georgia, Ms. Lee, Mr. Thompson of
California, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida, Mr.
Barton of Texas, Mr. Salazar, Mr. Higgins, Ms. Foxx, Ms. Schakowsky,
Mr. Barrow, Mr. Forbes, Mr. Patrick J. Murphy of Pennsylvania, Mr.
Michaud, Mr. Sestak, Mr. Costa, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. Olver,
Mr. Rogers of Alabama, Mr. Ruppersberger, Mr. Wicker, Ms. Wasserman
Schultz, Mr. Baird, Mr. Moran of Kansas, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Mitchell, Mr.
Boren, Mr. Cardoza, Mr. Cooper, Mr. Donnelly, Mr. McIntyre, Mr.
Melancon, Mr. Pomeroy, Ms. Herseth Sandlin, Mr. Wilson of Ohio, Mr.
Rodriguez, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Neal of Massachusetts, Mr. Udall of New
Mexico, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. McCaul of Texas, Mr. Broun of
Georgia, Mr. Baca, Mr. Price of North Carolina, Mr. Hinchey, Mr.
Boozman, Mr. Carnahan, Mr. Kennedy, Mrs. McMorris Rodgers, Mr.
Loebsack, Ms. Tsongas, and Mr. Hunter) introduced the following joint
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
JOINT RESOLUTION
Congratulating the Army Reserve on its centennial, which will be
formally celebrated on April 23, 2008, and commemorating the historic
contributions of its veterans and continuing contributions of its
soldiers to the vital national security interests and homeland defense
missions of the United States.
Whereas on January 9, 1905, the 26th President of the United States, Theodore
Roosevelt, dispatched a ``special message'' to the Senate and the House
of Representatives that ``earnestly recommended passage'' of legislation
to establish a Federal reserve force of skilled and trained personnel to
bring ``our Army ... to the highest point of efficiency'';
Whereas on December 14, 1905, the then-Secretary of War and later 27th President
of the United States, William Howard Taft, transmitted to the Senate and
the House of Representatives a draft bill and letter authored by Major
General Leonard Wood, ``strongly commending ... proposed legislation''
to ``increase the efficiency of the Medical Corps of the Army'' by
establishing a Federal reserve force comprised of specially trained
personnel;
Whereas in response to the recommendations of President Theodore Roosevelt and
senior military and civilian leaders, the 60th Congress enacted Public
Law 101, entitled ``An Act to increase the efficiency of the Medical
Department of the United States Army'', ch. 150, 35 Stat. 66, which was
signed into law on April 23, 1908, by President Theodore Roosevelt;
Whereas Public Law 101 authorized the establishment of the first Federal reserve
force and the first reservoir of trained officers in a reserve status
for a United States military service;
Whereas Congress subsequently adapted, expanded, and amended the reserve
organization of the Army to include additional military occupational
specialties and capabilities and established the organization today
known as the Army Reserve;
Whereas the Army Reserve has played a major role in the defense of our Nation
and in furtherance of United States interests for 100 years;
Whereas many distinguished Americans have served honorably and with distinction
in the Army Reserve, including Presidents Harry S. Truman and Ronald W.
Reagan, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Henry
H. Shelton, Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., Major General
William J. Donovan (Director of the Office of Strategic Services during
World War II), Drs. Charles H. Mayo and William J. Mayo, and Captain
Eddie Rickenbacker;
Whereas the Army Reserve contributed 169,500 soldiers to the Army during World
War I;
Whereas the Army Reserve contributed 200,000 soldiers and 29 percent of the
Army's officers during World War II and was recognized by General George
C. Marshall for its unique and invaluable contributions to the national
defense;
Whereas 240,500 soldiers of the Army Reserve were called to active duty during
the Korean War;
Whereas more than 60,000 Army Reserve soldiers were called to active duty during
the Berlin Crisis;
Whereas 35 Army Reserve units were activated and deployed in support of
operations in Vietnam, where they served with distinction and honor;
Whereas the Army Reserve contributed more than 84,000 soldiers in support of
Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield in 1990 and 1991;
Whereas the Army Reserve contributed more than 68 percent of the reserve
soldiers mobilized in support of Operation Joint Endeavor and Joint
Guard in Bosnia;
Whereas since September 11, 2001, the Army Reserve has provided indispensable
and sustained support for Operations Enduring Freedom, Noble Eagle, and
Iraqi Freedom, with 98 percent of units either deploying or providing
mobilized soldiers and more than 180,294 individual soldiers either
being mobilized or deployed in support of the Global War on Terrorism;
Whereas more than 42,000 individual soldiers of the Army Reserve have served
multiple deployments since September 11, 2001;
Whereas 24,329 Army Reserve soldiers were forward-deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan,
and 18 other countries on October 30, 2007, and 102 soldiers of the Army
Reserve had borne the ultimate sacrifice in support of Operations
Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom through October 31, 2007;
Whereas the Army Reserve is organized into 3 components, the Ready Reserve, the
Standby Reserve, and the Retired Reserve, which together contain more
than 1,000,000 soldiers;
Whereas the Army cannot go to war or sustain a military operation without the
highly skilled and trained personnel of the Army Reserve;
Whereas the Army Reserve provides more than 37 percent of the mission essential
combat support and combat service support forces of the Army;
Whereas 100 percent of the Army's Internment Settlement Brigades, Judge Advocate
General Units (Legal Support Organizations), Medical Groups, Railway
Units, and Training and Exercise Divisions are in the Army Reserve;
Whereas more than 66 percent of the Army's Civil Affairs Units, Psychological
Operations Units, Theater Signal Commands, Expeditionary Sustainment
Commands, and Medical Capabilities are in the Army Reserve;
Whereas the Army Reserve is no longer a force held in strategic reserve but
today functions as an integral and essential operational reserve in
support of the missions of the active Army;
Whereas the Army cannot go to war or sustain a military operation without the
skilled and trained Ready Reserve and Retired Reserve soldiers of the
Army Reserve;
Whereas the Selected Reserve component of the Army Reserve is comprised of more
than 30,000 officers and 150,000 enlisted soldiers who have volunteered
their personal service in defense of the Constitution and their fellow
citizens;
Whereas the Army and the Army Reserve are recognized as institutions that have
played historic and decisive roles in promoting the cause of individual
dignity and the value of integration;
Whereas more than one in four Army Reserve soldiers are female whose
contributions have consistently been marked by a high degree of
commitment, professionalism, and military bearing;
Whereas the ability of individual soldiers and the Army Reserve to perform their
wartime missions is contingent on the active engagement and support of
their families, employers, and local communities;
Whereas the Army Reserve is a community-based force with an active presence in
1,100 communities and 975 Army Reserve centers in operation throughout
the United States;
Whereas Sir Winston Churchill once remarked that ``Reservists are twice the
citizen'', a sentiment that applies especially to the soldiers of the
Army Reserve; and
Whereas the Army Reserve makes these contributions to the security of our nation
in return for less than 5 percent of the Army's total budget: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled, That the Congress--
(1) congratulates the Army Reserve on the occasion of the
100th anniversary of the enactment of its original authorizing
law;
(2) recognizes and commends the Army Reserve for the
selfless and dedicated service of its past and present citizen-
soldiers whose personal courage, contributions, and sacrifices
have helped preserve the freedom and advance the national
security and homeland defense of the United States; and
(3) extends its gratitude to the veterans, soldiers,
families, and employers whose essential and constant support
have enabled the Army Reserve to accomplish its vital missions
and renews our Nation's commitment in support of their noble
efforts.
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